Chapter 203: Beneath the Heavens

Shortly after, on the riverbank's layered ship.

Xie Jinhuan sat on the chess couch, gazing from the window at the sea of people gathered at the venue below; he had changed into new robes, his hand injuries had been treated, a small table before him held delicious dishes, and Meiqiu was devouring her meal with gusto.

Just after finishing the round-robin battles, Xie Jinhuan had returned to the sidelines to hand back his weapons, where Wei Lu had pulled him to a nearby medical station for a renowned martial arts physician to tend to his wounds.

Though the injuries were not severe, he was indeed exhausted, his Qi sea completely empty and in urgent need of replenishment; Xie Jinhuan had intended to return with Seeing Bing Tuozi to receive the rewards, but unexpectedly discovered that Seeing Bing Tuozi had vanished, nowhere to be found.

Unable to locate her, Xie Jinhuan could only return to his quarters first to rest, using the elevated position of the three-story ship to gaze out at the situation in the venue.

To his surprise, he found that Hua Shijie Hua lived up to her reputation as Seeing Bing Tuozi's senior sister; her strength was formidable. Though her movements made little noise, her footwork and techniques were as ghostly as a phantom. Facing her opponents, she looked like a blue butterfly flitting lightly among swords, spears, and staffs, never allowing them to land a single touch, and seizing any opening to strike decisively and ruthlessly.

However, this style of fighting, which relied mainly on attrition, was very slow; after watching for so long, only two matches had been completed, and whether she could catch up remained uncertain.

Just as he was observing this, a figure emerged on the riverbank, walking with vigorous momentum; from a distance, she looked like an emotionless, desireless black longsword, rushing swiftly toward the ferry.

Xie Jinhuan's eyes lit up; he leaned out the window and waved:

"Honghong?"

Whoosh—

Before the words had fully faded, the figure leaped onto the ferry's railing in a single bound, then sprang into the third-floor window. Mid-air, a three-foot green blade was drawn from its scabbard; upon landing, she still held the posture of a sword immortal, one hand clasped behind her back, the sword tip angled downward. Though curtains obscured the view, the intense killing intent radiating from Bingshan's cold face was still palpable!

"Gugu?"

Meiqiu, shaking her head, sensed something was amiss. She dropped the piece of meat she had just picked up, quietly scurried into the inner room, and peeked out from the corner of the doorframe to observe.

Xie Jinhuan was also momentarily stunned. After briefly taking in the black-clad heroine's rock-steady stance, he considered closing the window to avoid being seen and having the rumor spread that "Young Hero Xie is henpecked":

"Why are you angry?"

Nangong Ye's face was as frosty as snow, her voice clear and cold:

"What do you mean? Knowing full well that I am at odds with her, why did you help her just now?"

Seeing that this was the cause, Xie Jinhuan explained softly:

"You and Hua Shijie Hua are competing for the position of Sect Master; this is an internal family matter. Since you are not even participating in the matches, the three of us are still on the same side. No matter how deep our grudges, we should secure the item first; fighting to the death can wait. If we scheme against each other before succeeding, and others snatch the benefit, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"

"..."

Nangong Ye knew the logic was sound, but Bu Yuehua was not one of their own; she was her mortal enemy. Giving the demoness an advantage was tantamount to signing her own death warrant!

Yet she had brought this upon herself, and there was no way to voice her grievance...

"If she truly wins the championship, do you think you will still have a chance to snatch it back?"

Xie Jinhuan spoke earnestly: "If it falls into Hua Shijie Hua's hands, given our relationship, it will surely be easier to retrieve than if it ended up in the hands of the Dragon Cloud Valley or the Beacon Mountain Society. Even if Hua Shijie Hua refuses to give it up, at least the benefits would remain within the Azure Mist Sword Sect, which is far better than letting outsiders take it..."

Nangong Ye could not explain the reasons in detail and found herself unable to refute him. After a moment, she reversed her grip and sheathed her sword:

"I just watched; her strength has increased dramatically in the past year. She will most likely win the championship in this battle; you cannot possibly be her match.

"If she obtains the Hu Gu Teng, our bond will be severed, I will not seek a cure for my poison anymore, and I will never be able to surpass her again. What use would curing my poison be then?"

These words were truly enough to make any man furious.

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan stood up and gently patted his back:

"Winning the championship is a good thing; at least the item will be returned. I will think of a way later to ask Hua Shijie Hua to hand it over..."

"Ask?"

Nangong Ye turned her head:

"How will you ask? Are you preparing to treat her as you treated me—slaying demons, helping cure her poison, and converting her, only to have her lend you the Hu Gu Teng? She is nothing like me; she cares only about cultivation, has no regard for the righteous path, and has not been afflicted by any strange poison requiring your help to cure..."

Xie Jinhuan shrugged slightly: "How can you say 'treat you'? From start to finish, my intentions have been entirely sincere. If you are truly angry, then I admit my mistake and will change. Tomorrow, I will risk my life to win and snatch the Hu Gu Teng back. Even if I cannot obtain it, I will fight until we both are severely injured, ensuring Hua Shijie Hua does not succeed..."

"..."

Nangong Ye felt this was indeed somewhat inappropriate.

Preventing her mortal enemy from succeeding was inevitable, but she could not, for that reason, allow Xie Jinhuan to deliberately injure her rival; neither side would benefit from such an outcome.

Given her rival's cultivation level of half-step to Super Rank and the Martial Path cultivation she had just displayed, Xie Jinhuan would likely reach the top three regardless of whether he offered her any favors.

To prevent the worst-case scenario, the most correct decision at present was to find a way for Xie Jinhuan to win, rather than simply ensuring her rival was eliminated...

But this youth's foundation was flawless; to increase his chances of victory, only his cultivation level could be raised...

In just one day, how could his cultivation be rapidly increased...

Dual cultivation...

Pfft, pfft, pfft! Absolutely not!

After a long silence, Nangong Ye's anger slowly turned to worry. She sat beside the tea couch, tilting her head in silent contemplation. Xie Jinhuan sat down before her, lifted the black veil of his hat, and looked into her cold-as-ice phoenix eyes. Seeing that Seeing Bing Tuozi ignored him, he poured a cup of strong wine and brought it close to her face:

"There, there. Have a sip of wine to calm your temper. I might not lose tomorrow; seven victories would very likely put me in first place. The second and third place contenders must fight each other before facing me. When the strong clash, there will surely be some battle damage. The advantage is mine!"

Nangong Ye's mind was in turmoil. Smelling the aroma of the wine, she indeed wished to drown her sorrows with drink, but just as she raised her hand to take the cup, she discovered that this rascal had already downed it in one gulp!

"You... hmpf~"

Xie Jinhuan, still holding the strong wine in his mouth, kissed her alluring red lips and顺势 pulled Seeing Bing Tuozi onto his lap.

Nangong Ye's face flushed red. She wanted to strike this ungrateful rascal, but seeing his body was weak and his arm injured, she finally lowered her hand, closed her eyes, and pretended to be an ice block, allowing herself to be kissed and caressed...

Sizzle~

Although the virginity seal remained, Nangong Ye had already experienced the joys of the fish and water union. Having tasted the sweetness, she found herself craving more. Moreover, Xie Jinhuan was indeed skilled at finding weaknesses; after a sequence of kissing her earlobe and stroking her lower back, her body grew soft, even becoming slightly moist...

Sensing she could no longer maintain her composure, Nangong Ye turned her head slightly:

"You rest well and recover your strength as soon as possible. I will continue to observe the situation. Once it ends, I will help you analyze how to deal with her."

Xie Jinhuan shook his head and smiled: "Actually, there is nothing to analyze. If I can win, it makes no difference whether I watch or not. With overwhelming raw strength, my analysis would be useless anyway; I cannot resort to underhanded tricks."

Nangong Ye felt that understanding her opponent's style and techniques beforehand would surely increase her chances of victory.

Furthermore, staying here to accompany the yellow-haired youth in drinking alcohol meant that whatever happened next needed no words. If she let out a muffled moan while he was at it, and the demoness finished her match and came wandering over, she would lose both her reputation and her man, and be mocked for the rest of her life...

For this reason, Nangong Ye stood up and adjusted her robes:

"Prevention is better than cure. You rest well; you absolutely must not lose tomorrow!"

Saying this, he quickly stepped out the door.

Click~

Seeing the door close, Meiqiu hopped out, continuing to shake her head and munch away heartily...

——

The Dajiang River flows east day and night; the sharp angle wedged between the two rivers, seen from the clouds, resembles a withered leaf, merging with the autumn-yellow Shanhe.

Ants walking on the leaf formed a large circle; in the center was a small patch of empty ground where two stronger little ants ran back and forth wrestling, occasionally kicking up a faint, almost imperceptible dust.

As the view moved up along the winding river channel, in a valley eight hundred li away, another ant troop advanced along a rugged path.

At the head was a figure in a black robe; behind him were dozens of attendants escorting captives chained together, looking like a swarm of black ants carrying a meat-worm back to the ant hill.

Meanwhile, on the boundless plain to the southeast, a massive ant nest contained countless worker ants rushing between a thousand streets and ten thousand alleys.

Inside the palace, a young little ant, about to become the "master" of this Shanhe spanning thirty thousand li, was at that moment discussing statecraft with several ant kings; opening his mouth he spoke of all living beings under heaven, closing it he mentioned the common people and the state, his words cautious as if fearing that a single utterance from his golden mouth and jade lips would cause heaven to collapse and the earth to shatter, toppling the Shanhe!

But alas, Heaven never cared for these things.

Above the firmament, another golden little ant, as in days past, pierced through the endless sea of clouds over ten thousand li of land to rest in a cave dwelling located in the Southern Wasteland; passing over the city below, she casually glanced down.

She remembered that three years ago, passing through here, she had accidentally noticed something amiss on a mountain in the suburbs; it seemed a small evil cultivator was hiding there, acting furtively. She went down to investigate, but found no person; instead, she scared the entire mountain population into chaos, so she left.

By the time she returned, she discovered a pair of mortal father and son had been brutally slaughtered, and she had formed a bond of incense and fire with them.

That bold and courageous child had even fulfilled his promise, returning alive from the south.

She felt this child was one favored by the Heavenly Dao, just like the True Person Qixia a hundred years ago; his talent, placed on a mountain peak, could only be described as average, yet he was extremely uncanny!

Even the Corpse Ancestor, strong enough to establish a sect and be called an Ancestor, had suffered many losses at the hands of True Person Qixia; later on, wherever True Person Qixia was, the Corpse Ancestor simply turned and left.

It was not that the Corpse Ancestor could not defeat him, but True Person Qixia would always have a "sudden inspiration," appearing in inexplicable places, or pulling out inexplicable things, leaving people completely baffled...

She too could not understand True Person Qixia, but this time she could have a similar figure stand on her side, so that child's father is still serving as an official in Yanjing to this day.

However, that child indeed possessed a rebellious bone; upon returning, without a word, he joined the enemy nation and repeatedly achieved miraculous feats, seemingly not caring for his father at all...

A child who could give his life-saving medicine to his old father could never possibly abandon him; she guessed he might be guided by a high master, playing a grand chess game, so she was not in a hurry.

At this moment, passing over the city, she looked down and saw that on Zheng'an Street near the imperial city, the gates of Hou Fu were tightly closed, with no one moving inside.

And Wang Fu, not far away, was somewhat livelier.

A young man who appeared to be the heir climbed out of a locked study window, holding a vase in his arms, crouching low as he moved outward...

At the entrance, a steward with a sharp nose and monkey cheeks was speaking with a tall man; his earth-shattering, heaven-weeping appearance was so rare that she even knew his name was "Hou Jun."

This man, twenty years ago, was considered a promising martial arts talent with some reputation in Great Qian; unfortunately, he was beaten silly by the men of Master Sikong's son, Sikong Shitang...

Inside the western residence, a girl who looked like she embodied national peace and people's welfare, dressed in mourning clothes, was sparring with a girl in a white skirt, wielding dual blades.

The girl in the white skirt was chased all over the garden; hmm... clearly a fragile Daoist sect member...

After a single glance, the Jin Jia figure did not linger; piercing through the endless sea of clouds, she continued southward toward the Southern Border...

———

Writing later and later; I'll treat today as a leave of absence. Tomorrow I'll strive to resume morning updates. One chapter remains; I'll make it up in a couple of days. Sorry, or2.

(End of this chapter)